fix(bot-mode): first click on a bot opens its chat — the home no longer bounces over it

The Bots home landing appeared on EVERY first click of a bot whose
canonical Bot Chat had been compressed; only a second click got through.

openRosterBot claimed the center with the durable registry id, but the
session-focus edge fired by the open itself reports the compression-
lineage TIP. releaseStaleOpenBotChat compared tip !== registry id,
declared the claim stale, released it, and the home reasserted over the
freshly opened chat. The second click worked only because the tip was
already focused — no new focus edge fired to sabotage it.

openBotCanonicalChat now returns both identities (registryId + openedId);
the claim carries both; a focus edge matching EITHER keeps it. Foreign
sessions still release, and the legacy no-id draft claim is unchanged.

apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/plugin.js

@@ -5278,11 +5278,17 @@ async function openBotCanonicalChat(owner) {
   const existing = await findExistingCanonicalChat(owner)
 
   if (existing?.id && typeof host.openSession === 'function') {
-    await openStoredBotChat(owner, existing.resolved_id || existing.id, existing)
-    return existing.id
+    const openedId = existing.resolved_id || existing.id
+    await openStoredBotChat(owner, openedId, existing)
+    // Both identities matter downstream: the durable registry row names the
+    // chat; the resolved lineage tip is what actually takes session focus.
+    // Callers matching focus against only the registry id mistook every
+    // compressed Bot Chat for a stale open (first click bounced to the home).
+    return { registryId: String(existing.id), openedId: String(openedId) }
   }
 
-  return createCanonicalChat(owner)
+  const created = await createCanonicalChat(owner)
+  return created ? { registryId: String(created), openedId: String(created) } : null
 }
 
 async function prepareBotSource(bot) {
@@ -5375,17 +5381,26 @@ async function openRosterBot(bot) {
   }
 
   try {
-    const registryId = await openBotCanonicalChat(bot)
+    const opened = await openBotCanonicalChat(bot)
 
     if (generation !== botOpenGeneration) {
       return false
     }
 
-    if (registryId) {
+    if (opened) {
       // This is not an identity preference: opening already completed through
       // the name registry. Keep only enough ephemeral state to release the
-      // home if another tab later claims the center.
-      $openBotChat.set({ key, openedRegistryId: String(registryId) })
+      // home if another tab later claims the center. Track BOTH identities —
+      // session focus reports the compression-lineage tip (openedId), not the
+      // durable registry row, and matching focus against the registry id
+      // alone released this claim on the first click of every compressed
+      // Bot Chat (home bounced over the chat; a second click stuck only
+      // because no new focus edge fired).
+      $openBotChat.set({
+        key,
+        openedRegistryId: opened.registryId,
+        openedSessionId: opened.openedId
+      })
       closeBotsHomeWorkspace()
       return true
     }
@@ -12644,7 +12659,12 @@ function releaseStaleOpenBotChat(focusedStoredId) {
   }
 
   const focused = focusedStoredId === null || focusedStoredId === undefined ? '' : String(focusedStoredId)
-  const stale = open.openedRegistryId ? focused !== open.openedRegistryId : Boolean(focused)
+  // The focused stored id is the compression-lineage TIP; the claim carries
+  // both the durable registry id and the tip it actually opened. Either
+  // match keeps the claim — comparing only the registry id released it on
+  // the very focus edge the open itself caused (first-click home bounce).
+  const owned = [open.openedSessionId, open.openedRegistryId].filter(Boolean)
+  const stale = owned.length ? !owned.includes(focused) : Boolean(focused)
 
   if (stale) {
     $openBotChat.set(null)

apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/tests/bot-open-focus-identity.test.mjs

@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+import assert from 'node:assert/strict'
+import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+import test from 'node:test'
+
+// First-click home bounce (community report, Aug 2026): clicking a bot whose
+// canonical Bot Chat had been COMPRESSED landed on the Bots home instead of
+// the chat; only a second click got through. Root cause: openRosterBot
+// claimed the center with the durable registry id, but the session-focus
+// edge that the open itself fired reports the compression-lineage TIP —
+// releaseStaleOpenBotChat compared tip !== registry id, called the claim
+// stale, released it, and the home reasserted over the freshly opened chat.
+// The second click "worked" only because the tip was already focused, so no
+// new focus edge fired to sabotage it.
+//
+// Contract pinned here (source-shape):
+// - openBotCanonicalChat returns BOTH identities (registryId + openedId);
+// - the $openBotChat claim stores openedSessionId alongside openedRegistryId;
+// - releaseStaleOpenBotChat keeps the claim when the focused id matches
+//   EITHER identity, and still releases on a genuinely foreign session.
+
+const pluginSource = readFileSync(new URL('../plugin.js', import.meta.url), 'utf8')
+
+test('canonical open returns both the registry row and the opened tip', () => {
+  const fn = pluginSource.slice(
+    pluginSource.indexOf('async function openBotCanonicalChat'),
+    pluginSource.indexOf('async function prepareBotSource')
+  )
+  assert.match(fn, /registryId: String\(existing\.id\)/)
+  assert.match(fn, /openedId: String\(openedId\)/)
+})
+
+test('the open claim carries the opened session id', () => {
+  const fn = pluginSource.slice(
+    pluginSource.indexOf('async function openRosterBot'),
+    pluginSource.indexOf('function displayName')
+  )
+  assert.match(fn, /openedSessionId: opened\.openedId/)
+})
+
+test('focus on either owned identity keeps the claim; foreign focus releases', () => {
+  const start = pluginSource.indexOf('function releaseStaleOpenBotChat')
+  const body = pluginSource.slice(start, pluginSource.indexOf('\n}', start) + 2)
+  // executable check: evaluate the function against a stub store
+  let stored = null
+  const $openBotChat = {
+    get: () => stored,
+    set: value => {
+      stored = value
+    }
+  }
+  const release = new Function('$openBotChat', `${body}; return releaseStaleOpenBotChat`)($openBotChat)
+
+  // compressed chat: claim carries registry 'reg-1' and tip 'tip-9'
+  stored = { key: 'k', openedRegistryId: 'reg-1', openedSessionId: 'tip-9' }
+  release('tip-9') // the focus edge the open itself fires
+  assert.ok(stored, 'tip focus must NOT release the claim (first-click bounce)')
+
+  release('reg-1')
+  assert.ok(stored, 'registry-id focus must not release either')
+
+  release('other-session')
+  assert.equal(stored, null, 'a genuinely foreign session releases the claim')
+
+  // legacy draft claim (no ids): any focused session releases
+  stored = { key: 'k', openedRegistryId: '' }
+  release('any')
+  assert.equal(stored, null)
+})

apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/tests/canonical-chat-registry.test.mjs

@@ -77,7 +77,9 @@ test('open resolves the profile\u2019s "Bot Chat" row by exact title and opens i
     }
   })
 
-  assert.equal(await runtime.openBotCanonicalChat('ops'), 'forever-chat')
+  const opened = await runtime.openBotCanonicalChat('ops')
+  assert.equal(opened.registryId, 'forever-chat')
+  assert.equal(opened.openedId, 'forever-chat')
   assert.equal(runtime.opened.length, 1)
   assert.equal(runtime.opened[0].id, 'forever-chat')
   assert.equal(runtime.opened[0].options.profile, 'ops')
@@ -107,8 +109,9 @@ test('a compression-rotated registry row opens the lineage tip', async () => {
     }
   })
 
-  assert.equal(await runtime.openBotCanonicalChat('ops'), 'root-1',
-    'the durable registry id is returned')
+  const opened = await runtime.openBotCanonicalChat('ops')
+  assert.equal(opened.registryId, 'root-1', 'the durable registry id is returned')
+  assert.equal(opened.openedId, 'tip-9', 'the lineage tip rides alongside for focus matching')
   assert.equal(runtime.opened[0].id, 'tip-9', 'the live tip is what opens')
 })
 
@@ -139,7 +142,9 @@ test('no registry row mints a hidden "Bot Chat" session with the intro kickoff',
     }
   })
 
-  assert.equal(await runtime.openBotCanonicalChat('newbie'), 'fresh-1')
+  const opened = await runtime.openBotCanonicalChat('newbie')
+  assert.equal(opened.registryId, 'fresh-1')
+  assert.equal(opened.openedId, 'fresh-1')
   const create = runtime.requests.find(r => r.method === 'session.create')
   assert.equal(create?.params?.title, 'Bot Chat')
   assert.equal(create?.params?.hidden, true)
@@ -186,8 +191,9 @@ test('an ordinary titled session never satisfies the registry lookup', async ()
     }
   })
 
-  assert.equal(await runtime.openBotCanonicalChat('ops'), 'fresh-2',
-    'no row titled "Bot Chat" → create; never adopt an ordinary conversation')
+  const opened = await runtime.openBotCanonicalChat('ops')
+  assert.equal(opened.registryId, 'fresh-2', 'no row titled "Bot Chat" → create; never adopt an ordinary conversation')
+  assert.equal(opened.openedId, 'fresh-2')
   assert.ok(!runtime.opened.some(o => o.id === 'scratch'))
 })
 

apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/tests/remote-routing-races.test.mjs

@@ -272,7 +272,8 @@ test('non-identity alias resolves the canonical chat by NAME on the backend prof
 
   const result = await runtime.context.__race.openBotCanonicalChat(workerBot)
 
-  assert.equal(result, 'worker-chat')
+  assert.equal(result.registryId, 'worker-chat')
+  assert.equal(result.openedId, 'worker-chat-tip')
   const lookup = requests.find(([method]) => method === 'session.list')
   assert.equal(lookup[1].profile, 'backend-worker', 'lookup uses the backend alias, not the logical name')
   assert.equal(lookup[1].title, 'Bot Chat')